How Do I Choose a Router for My Home?

Choosing a wireless router for the home that provides fast and reliable Wi-Fi, is not an easy task. It is also difficult to have a reliable router, especially if you are a beginner. To make things even tougher, manufacturers use lots of brief descriptions and marketing terms to describe their routers. This has very little connection to your real-life experience. 

Also, the product name doesn't tell you much about how good the router is. When you pick a router for your home, you must know whether it has a single-core, dual-core, or quad-core processor. To help you choose the best router for your home, read this guide and learn what to look for in a router.

How Do I Choose a Router for My Home?

Most people are not aware of home routers unless they have problems with 4K video streaming or online video games. Today, there are a plethora of home-based gadgets that require Wi-Fi to function properly. If you want to buy a home router, go for 802.11 hardware. This allows you to achieve a throughput of up to 1300 Mbps which is very fast.  

The reality for most of the router, only a few devices can handle this type of speed but they will be effective in the near future. Next, think of using a router that helps you set parental controls. It also prevents young children from accessing adult material. Besides, most of the router offers management applications like the smart router. 

What to Consider When Purchasing a Router for Home

In this section, we have discussed some of the main important considerations before having a router for the home. Let's see what they are.

WiFi StandardThe wireless standard is one of the first factors to consider when selecting the right Wi-Fi router.  Very early routers used IEEE 802.11a or 802.11b. The most recent specification is 802.11ac, which ensures that the router can accommodate gigabit speeds.

Booster ClubIf you need more speed for applications such as video calls or games, you can always update your services. These types of activities can be manageable by a family with a connection speed of about 200 megabytes per second. 

LAN & USB PortsLAN ports connect a device to a router with an Ethernet cable. If you need more LAN ports than routers have, you can increase the number of available ports by installing an Ethernet switch. If a router has a built-in print server, an external hard disk, or a USB printer. USB ports are used to connect to a flash drive.

App-Based ManagementAlmost every new router comes with software designed to facilitate WiFi network setup and configuration. Apps can also detect which devices are connecting to the network more easily than ever before. These applications also notify you when a router upgrade is available.

Conclusion

When buying a new Wi-Fi router, there are a few things to consider. While most can work admirably in most cases, it is important to understand what is actually needed. So, look for a router with at least four 10/100/1000 (gigabit) ethernet ports. 

This allows you to connect to wired devices that are available at your home. So, follow the guidelines that we mentioned above, before purchasing a router for your home. This will help you to pick the best router.